Shaquille O’Neal admits himself he isn’t a patient man, so when his credit card was declined in Walmart once, he didn’t believe it.
Shaq, who is one of the richest athletes in the world, appears to have experienced the same embarrassing moment we’ve all had at the checkout. The NBA legend has beefed up his bank balance from endorsement deals, contracts and ventures off the court, and money isn’t a struggle for him now. But that doesn’t mean Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t seen his share of blunders in the supermarket. The celebrity couldn’t fathom it at first, either.
Shaquille O’Neal didn’t believe his credit card would be declined
The 52-year-old appeared on The Late Late Show with James Cordon in 2018 where he explained the situation, alongside fellow TV guest Victoria Beckham.
He explained when he was transferred to the Phoenix Suns from Miami Heat, they set him up with his new apartment but when he arrived it was complete empty.
Confessing he’s not great at having patience, he drove down to Walmart in the middle of the night to buy everything he’d need for the new digs – literally, everything.
“I have the biggest purchase in Walmart history,” Shaq boasted, “$70,000 in Walmart.”
“So, I get traded from Miami to Phoenix. I am the type of guy that has no patience. So I get to Phoenix and know that they have an apartment for me, but nothing is in it. So two to three AM in the morning, I gotta go get 4-5 TVs, I gotta get printers, I gotta get laptops, appliances, sheets, towels, underwear, t-shirts.
“At the end of it, my bill was $70,000, and it got declined.
“So I pulled it out, ‘ahh’ *rubs card on his shirt* and put it back in.
“It said ‘declined’ again, so I said, ‘I know I am not broke’.”
Shaq O’Neal walked away to see if he could sort it out, and his credit card company phoned him up, concerned it was stolen, and he was a victim of fraud.
“Then American Express security called me, ‘hey man, somebody stole your credit card and spent $70,000 at Walmart’.” he added.
“I said, ‘no, that was me’. They turned it back on, it’s a true story.”
Shaq’s right, he’s definitely not broke
The celebrity is said to be worth up to $500m, despite retiring from the NBA. The entrepreneur has dabbled in hosting on television and endorsing products, that’s allowed him to continue his money-making ventures.
Shaq also hosts his own podcast now, capitalizing on the boom of audio content in recent years, and eveninterviewed Jason Kelce earlier this year.
He’s come far since his 1996 contract, when he signed a seven-year, $120m deal with the LA Lakers. At the time, it was one of the biggest deals in the basketball industry, and went on to take home almost $290m throughout his career from his salary.
It’s believed he then raked in more than $200m in endorsements on the side.
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